By Staff Writer

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) workers have declared incapacitation to perform their duties, saying they no longer afford basic needs such as shelter, transport, food and school fees due to low salaries.

In an urgent letter to the employer, the Zimbabwe Revenue and Allied Workers Trade Union (ZIMRATU), which represents the workers, held that the erosion of the value of its members’ earnings has condemned them to near destitution.

ZIMRATU President, Dominic Manyangadze, in a letter addressed to the ZIMRA Commissioner General, said their housing allowances were pegged at US$75, payable in the local currency at the prevailing interbank rate while landlords were demanding rentals in United States dollars.

Manyangadze said ZIMRA workers are performing well under difficult conditions but their efforts are not being recognised.

 “We are now incapacitated to afford basic human needs like shelter, transport, food and education, among others. It is disheartening that the salary of a ZIMRA worker can no longer afford basic food items due to inflationary pressures and the continuous dollarisation of the economy. The ZIMRA workers have continued to perform exceptionally well even in the face of very difficult working and economic conditions but are now having to supplement their incomes from side hustles,” read the letter.

Manyangadze said ZIMRA workers’s salaries were last reviewed in the first half of 2023 and as a result, they are now incapacitated.

He added that ZIMRATU members will not be able to fully involve themselves with the employer’s business daily to enable them to supplement their incomes to cover transport, rentals, and school fees that are being demanded in foreign currency.

“The rapid erosion of our salaries has left workers near destitute, forcing them to resort to borrowing and side hustles to make ends meet. There are significant price increases on basic commodities, school fees, health expenses and communication, among other costs.”